Gas turbine engines are used to power aircraft, watercraft, power generators, and the like. Gas turbine engines typically include a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine. The compressor compresses air drawn into the engine and delivers high pressure air to the combustor. In the combustor, fuel is mixed with the high pressure air and is ignited. Products of the combustion reaction in the combustor are directed into the turbine where work is extracted to drive the compressor and, sometimes, an output shaft. Left-over products of the combustion are exhausted out of the turbine and may provide thrust in some applications.
To withstand heat from the combustion products received from the combustor, the turbine may include blades that have ceramic matrix composite material components. Ceramic matrix composite materials are able to withstand very high temperatures, often without active cooling. Manufacture of turbine blades to include ceramic matrix composite materials can present challenges when detailed features of the turbine blades are considered because of material properties and available manufacturing methods that must be taken into account. Accordingly, work on the design of turbine blades including ceramic matrix composites is ongoing.